Three years ago, Dana Moffat entertained the notion that her basketball adventures just might work out, that, "I'd go pretty far, maybe."

She got sidetracked, finally giving into the rowing challenge. Her mom and sister rowed. They encouraged her to try. Once Dana took the seat, she never looked back.

Now, the Fayetteville-Manlius High School senior is zooming up the national rowing scene. Moffat is spending the summer training in a selection camp with USRowing, the national governing body for the sport. She spent the first part of her training assignment in New London, Conn., before transferring to Princeton, N.J. It's all a lead-up to August when Moffat will row for the U.S. at the Junior World Championships in Germany, then travel to China for the Youth Olympics.

Moffat has been assigned to a two-person boat at the Youth Olympics. She is still waiting for placement in one of the boats that will compete in Germany. The lineups are expected to be announced this month.

"It's a huge deal," said F-M rowing coach Dave Cusano of Moffat's accomplishment. "What makes it more unique is her age (she's 17). The fact she is this young and she is doing what she's doing."

Moffat thought her sport was basketball. As she transitioned to high school, Moffat said it became "less appealing." During the winter, her mother and sister convinced her to try an ergometer, an indoor rowing machine. They said her height and strength fit the sport.

Jennifer Moffat took up rowing after moving in 1999 from Palo Alto, Calif., to Syracuse for work. She wanted to take care of the plentiful supply of lakes and water, something scarce in her previous home. Her oldest daughter, Laurel, followed her into the sport first, then Dana.

"I was hoping they liked rowing as much as I do," said Jennifer Moffat, an associate professor in SUNY Upstate Medical University's department of microbiology and immunology.

"I got on one of the machines and started pulling some of the best times and it got me hooked," Moffat said. "It's really rewarding. You feel really good when you see yourself succeeding. All of that pure, physical exertion brings a glow to the body. It's like why do people run marathons?"

Her ascension has been quick. In February, Moffat won the junior women's heavyweight division at an indoor ergometer competition in Boston called CRASH-B. In a division with 239 competitors, Moffat beat two rowers from Germany and another from Canada for the top spot. It was a breakthrough and showed Moffat she had the talent to be successful at the top level.

Her time of 6 minutes 49 seconds set the stage for participating in a USRowing identification camp where she earned one of 40 spots for the junior national team selection camp. She joined the camp at Connecticut College shortly after the completion of school and posted the fastest ergometer time among the rowers. She made the final cut of 16 rowers that will compete in Germany. The assignment to China was an added bonus.

"I’m feeling really excited to be traveling so much this summer," Moffat said during a phone interview from Connecticut. "It's a lot of responsibility to the other girls on the team and the coaches and representing the country is some added pressure. It's a responsibility I'm really enjoying and I feel lucky to be taking it on."

The work is tough. Moffat said she's on the water for a two-hour workout every morning by 6 and back on the water in the afternoon for a lighter workout. She burns more than 4,000 calories a day, but the ends justify the means.

Not only does this put her on the radar of the national coaches, but it's led to multiple scholarship offers to row in college. Moffat said she has several full rides including one to Stanford (her family is from Palo Alto, Calif.)

The pace of training leaves little time for summer. She left home on June 19 and won't be back until August 29. The first day of fall classes at F-M are Sept. 2.